Armed police called in after Splinter Cell stunt goes wrong
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Tuesday, 20 April 2010
, Posted by Ed Allen at 06:01
An ill-conceived marketing stunt for the highly anticipated video game Splinter Cell Conviction almost ended in disaster when armed police stormed a lively bar district in Auckland, New Zealand, in response to a man pointing a fake gun at crowds of shocked bystanders.
The actor roamed the streets of Auckland's Viaduct Basin district brandishing the imitation gun with his hands wrapped in bandages as part of a stunt to promote Ubisoft's latest big release.
Witnesses say people dived for cover as the man patrolled around before armed police turned up ready for a shootout. According to The New Zealand Herald report, police fortunately figured out what was going on before they opened fire, but were not amused by the incident.
Ubisoft marketing partner, Monaco Corporation, apologised for the mix up, but not before putting the blame on another marketing company it said it hired to organise the stunt.
"This was by no means an attempt to get cops down there and get this sort of exposure," said a Monaco Corporation spokesman, adding: "It was just marketing gone wrong,"
Source: NZ Herald
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Wow that is totally insane dude.
Lou
www.vpn-privacy.us.tc
Hey "Ultimate Privacy" how about you stop spamming up every comment board you come across and get a life.
Hmm, I for one wouldn't be reading about Splinter Cell if it didn't "go wrong"
at least he didn't get shot.
New Zealand police don't have guns do they???
-hcns
Not the regular police, but they do have an armed division
Most New Zealand police do not carry guns, but certain officers are trained to carry firearms, particularly in rural areas. Officers that are trained to carry firearms normally keep their weapons in their vehicles, and out of sight of the public.
The NZ police also have the Armed Offenders Squad. The AOS is pretty similar to a SWAT team.